


Baby Blues

by AbigailHT



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Childbirth, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Oneshot, POV Jesus (Walking Dead), Past Character Death, Sad, Some characters are only mentioned - Freeform, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, based on here & now because I love that story and had to write this headcanon down, oneshot to an existing work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 22:16:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9462716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbigailHT/pseuds/AbigailHT
Summary: Daryl and Jesus visit Maggie for the first time after she gives birth to baby Hershel. Daryl surprises Paul with some skills he didn't know the man had and they share a cute moment together.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MyPinkCactus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyPinkCactus/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Here and Now](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7378477) by [MyPinkCactus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyPinkCactus/pseuds/MyPinkCactus). 



> This is a headcanon of mine that I had for a while now in my head and decided to write it down at last.  
> Another fanfic (see above) has inspired me to write myself, that's why this plays in that universe a few months after the last chapter and she gave me permission to post this :) So if you don't know that fanfic, you won't know who the character Ben is who is mentioned in this oneshot. He was Jesus's boyfriend before the apocalypse and died at day one in the ZA. It's just a side note, so not really important for the oneshot, you can still keep on reading :)  
> 

"Would you like to hold him?" Maggie asked Daryl with a bright smile. "I just fed him, so you should enjoy the calm before he starts crying again."

Paul, sitting on the edge of the bed, smiled when he heard the woman’s offer, but looked a bit unsettled at Daryl, who was standing beside the bed.

"Thought you'd never ask," Daryl huffed humorously, bending over to take the bundle.

Paul watched with surprise and curiosity written all over his face. It had surprised him that Maggie had not asked him first, but he understood what Daryl and Maggie meant to each other, the deep bond they felt for each other, and what that moment meant for both. More than that, however, he had been surprised by the fact that Daryl had agreed without any objection and had taken the child immediately.

However, he remembered one of the stories Maggie had told him about the time before he had met Rick and his people. The story about Judith’s birth and how Daryl and Maggie had gone scavenging for baby formula when the infant had been facing starvation after her mother’s death. Daryl had been the one who had acted quickly to prevent that, while Judith’s own father and all the others had still been in a paralyzing state of shock. It had also been Daryl who had carefully taken the little girl in his arms, who had calmed and fed her for the first time. According to Maggie, that moment had been something special for the entire group—marked by hope and determination, giving all of them new courage and strength to resist the dangers and chicanery of the new world, in spite of all circumstances.

Even with this story in mind, he couldn’t stop himself from raising his eyebrows in astonishment when he saw Daryl taking the child into his arms with skill and gently rocking it to and fro, as if he had done nothing else in his life.

"Hey, lil’ monkey," he whispered in a calm voice and smiled.

He kissed his tiny fingers and nudged his forehead with his nose gently. The child fell asleep peacefully in his arms and a warm and fuzzy feeling suddenly engulfed Paul, who had been watching breathlessly. The whole interaction had caused his heart to glow and melt in mere seconds. 

 _This_ , he had expected the least.

With a delightful feeling in his chest, he stood up, put an arm around Daryl's waist, and leaned his head down on his shoulder, watching the sleeping child before he pressed a firm kiss on Daryl’s jawline.

Maggie smiled. "I wanted to ask you later, but now seems perfect. I would be happy if you agreed to become his godfathers. I'm sure Glenn would have liked that, too. What do you say?"

Daryl and Paul replied at the same time, without looking at each other or even thinking about it twice. One of them went "Hell, yeah!" and the other replied: "Of course, I’d be happy to, thank you for asking!"

Then they looked at each other in amazement and laughed.

"Here," said Daryl, handing the bundle to Paul so that he could make acquaintance with their little godson too.

In addition to Maggie, one woman had recently given birth and another was currently pregnant. The idea of raising a new generation in Hilltop and seeing the settlement grow filled Paul with great joy. There had been times when he had given up hope, and now that they were doing so well and the community was growing, he couldn’t stop himself from being optimistic. The world in which they lived was, however, not exactly generous, so he had no choice but to hope that he would be lucky enough to see this boy grow up. Of course he wouldn’t like to ever accept to fulfill his role as a godfather happily, because that would mean Maggie would not be able to take care of the kid herself anymore, but he planned to help her in all situations that might come their way in the future regardless.

When he looked at Daryl now, a new idea started to form in his head—an idea that slowly wormed its way to the surface and even surprised him with its vehemence, because he hadn’t had such thoughts since he had lost his previous life.

The last time the idea of becoming a father had crossed his mind had been when Ben had asked him about his opinion on that matter. He had intended to spend the rest of his life with that man, and yet, he hadn’t been able to reply in any other way than being reserved and reluctant. The knowledge of having to deceive him the way he had been doing had been worse enough for Paul. It had not agreed with his conscience to plan a happy family with the man before being honest with him about his day-job, and he had planned to delay such intentions until after he had solved that problem. His lack of enthusiasm had taken the wind out of Ben’s sails and he hadn’t been able to hide his disappointment; but he had said, with a sad smile, that they were young and still had all the time in the world to think about it. Ironically, that had turned out to be wrong and had been added to the pile of Paul’s regrets.

Now, as he held the helpless bundle in his arms, overpowered with strong protective feelings, and looked at his partner, he couldn’t fight the deep longing that anchored in his heart and in every fiber of his existence. The feeling overwhelmed him; the idea of raising a child together with this man filled him with unexpected happiness. He knew that the new addition to the family would assuage his wish in some way, since they would all care about the child as a family together, like the group previously had done with Judith, but he knew that it wouldn’t be enough to satisfy his new desire.

"What's the matter?" Daryl asked, sensing that Paul was deeply lost in his thoughts.

The caring in his voice made Paul smile warmly at him. What he had lost in his past life, he had found in this hundredfold again. He couldn’t imagine one day without his archer anymore, and right now—with his heart picking up its pace—he was sure that he could face all the hardships in the world together with him, especially the hardships of raising a child.

When this clarity moistened his eyes and he was just about to answer, the little boy distracted him with his movements and drew every attention in the room like a spell. Hershel opened his mouth and grimaced.

"Oh, no, did I wake him up?" Paul asked Maggie apologetically.

"Nah, he’s just hungry," Daryl replied.

"How do _you_ know?" Paul snorted incredulously, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, do not underestimate him, he was the first one to bond with Judith," Maggie giggled, stretching her arms in expectation.

"Perhaps Daryl is wrong and he will fall back asleep again," Paul said, reluctant to part from the little bundle.

As if Hershel had understood him, he whimpered with a deep frown, his eyes clenched shut and his mouth wide open. Daryl gently stroked his cheek with a finger and he calmed down immediately and wiggled with his head excitedly until he found his finger and began to suck on it loudly, his face smoothing in an instant.

"Said he's hungry," Daryl said with a smug look on his face.

Paul handed the child back to his mother. Unlike the other babies and toddlers in Hilltop, he was already feeling a special bond to the child. He knew that it was because he saw him and his mother as close family, and it was different with the other Hilltop residents.

"He hasn’t drunk properly earlier, Brianna was there and helped me, but somehow we haven’t quite become a team yet," the young mother said with a warm smile as she kissed the child and led him to her breast. "But she says it’s normal at the beginning. We have to get used to each other, right my little sweetheart?"

With these words she shoved the fabric of her top partly aside and gently pressed the child to her breast. The smacking noises that set in immediately made Maggie laugh and the two men chimed in.

"So cute, right?" she whispered, smiling.

Paul stepped closer and patted her shoulder. "We'll give you two some space and will be back again later."

She nodded, glancing down at her child. Paul squeezed her shoulder before he stepped back and moved aside for Daryl to lean down and press a kiss on her cheek. It seemed impossible, but with this tenderness, Maggie's expression brightened even further before she suddenly swallowed and grimaced. She pressed her lips tightly together, her face turned red and tears formed in her eyes, which she tried to suppress with all her strength. Daryl stroked away a tear that had escaped with his thumb and kissed her again. This time, however, he didn’t withdraw; he sat down beside her, leaned his forehead against her temple and whispered soothing words to her. A knot formed in Paul's throat. Seeing his friend in such a way had thrown him off balance. With long steps he walked around the bed and sat down on her other side, slipped closer to her, put his arm around her and breathed a kiss on her shoulder.

"We're not going anywhere, we're here," he whispered, stroking her arm with the other hand.

Maggie sniffed a few times and nodded; the trembling in her body gradually calmed down and the painful look gave way to a grateful smile. Daryl wiped her tears from her eyes again. Together they held her and gave her new strength, filled her with their love and the support she needed at that moment, feeling Glenn’s absence more intense than ever. The last thing they would do would be to leave her alone with these emotions after giving birth to her child.

And they wouldn’t do that in the future either, for they were a family.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this was not too boring :)  
> I just LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!! <3 <3 
> 
> This is my first fanfic and I am not a native speaker, so sorry for mistakes >.<  
> Cheers and thank you for reading :)


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